Because <<hypnohub.net/forum/show/83101|the topic about the player getting mind-controlled>> has come back up to the front page, it occurred to me that there's no inverse thread: a topic about the player being able to mind-control. The topic with mind control in video games, although it does have some examples (few and far between), mostly mentions cutscenes and events where specific characters get mind-controlled.

So that's what this is about: listing and sharing games where mind-control/possession/hypnosis/parasites are actual gameplay elements that you can use, or where there's a specific part that has these elements available to the player. Obviously there's a number of porn games (on Hypnopics Collective and the like) where that's a thing, but this topic is first and foremost about mainstream games, 'cuz let's be real, it's more rewarding and exciting when the mainstream acknowledges the fetish (partly because it has more cash and does it better).

I'll start with a few examples off the top of my head, which I might add to later:

-A few games have mind-control/"magic persuasion" that you can use in dialogue. Right now I can think of the Witcher 3 (I believe there's some in 2 as well) through the Axii sign, Vampire the Masquerade Bloodlines and Star Wars Knights of the Old Republic. To be honest, this is my favorite way of going about mind-control in games, but it's fairly rare.

-Speaking of the Witcher 3, Axii can also be used in combat.

-World of Warcraft (in)famously has mind-control available to Priests, usable on other players (unless that's changed ; it used to be the case). Hearthstone, based on Warcraft, also has a number of mind-control card effects.

-The Destroy All Humans! series has examples of mind-control - in the second one, in particular, Crypto gains the ability to body-surf, and also make people dance to forget his presence.

-I recently learned that Payday 2 has the "Joker" ability that enables the conversion of cops to your side. It's a strange mechanic for an action heisting game, but there you have it. Supposedly it was originally about threatening the cops into helping, but that seems to have been scrapped.

-The XCOM series has mind-controlling aliens - in the most recent games, you can learn their technology and use it against them.

-Syndicate (the original one, not the remake which I haven't played - I don't know whether that one has any mind-control) has the "Persuadertron" that you can use to convert civilians to your side.

-Speaking of strategy games, most of them have conversion mechanics. I don't know if something like Age of Empires with its monks (who remembers wololo ?) counts, but Starcraft 2 and the Zerg, who have "neural parasites", definitely counts. Also in Starcraft, the Protoss can definitely use mind-control.

-Serpent in the Staglands, retro-styled RPG, has an ability where you can "soul bind" companions to make them completely loyal to you.

-MindJack was a terrible PS3 and Xbox 360 game, but it had one of the better mind-control mechanics I've seen, where you can essentially use anyone as your puppet by hijacking them.

-Vampyr has some vampire enthrallment powers (unfortunately only upgradeable through the storyline, and not usable all the time).

-Tactical stealth game Phantom Doctrine, taking place during the Cold War (you can play as an American or a Soviet spy) and very similar to XCOM in its gameplay, has a point where (apparently, I haven't reached it yet) you can build a brainwashing facility of some sort, then capture enemy agents and turn them into sleepers, or use them in battle.

-Two oldish games come to mind where you can possess/control people: Requiem Avenging Angel has you play as, well, an Angel, and one of your powers is possessing enemies. In Messiah, similarly, you are some sort of cupid or cherub, and you can possess people. In fact, in that one, you're rather weak at a base, so it's really an essential part of the gameplay.

-The Sims series has a few different DLC and stuff where you can use mind-control or hypnosis. In recent times, Sims 4 had Strangerville, where you investigate mind-affecting spores in a town - you can also harvest them and use them on other people yourself.

-Overlord: you're an evil Overlord. You have evil minions. One of your powers is mind-control. From what I remember, the first game doesn't have much, but you can definitely enslave NPCs in the second one.

-In <<store.steampowered.com/app/568910/Ambition_of_the_Slimes/|Ambition of the Slimes>>, a Japanese game in the style of Final Fantasy Tactics, you play as some characteristically weak slimes whose main tactics consist of jumping into and controlling the body of human enemies. Very unique, and it's also available on PC, Android and iOS.

That's all that comes to mind right now, but feel free to respond and add to the list. Also, if this is not a good topic or it feels redundant, feel free to lock it or delete it, mods.

I guess Wind Waker would count, with the Command Melody.

Saints Row 3: There's a DLC gun that shoots exploding mind-controlling octopuses (octopi?). A direct hit will cause an enemy to do a little dance and then switch sides and fight for you (and eventually explode)

Satellite Reign: A spiritual successor to the Syndicate games, your team's hacker can Hijack civilians' (and with upgrades, enemies') mind to turn them to your side, similar to the Persuadertron in the old games.

Age of Wonders: In the first game (I haven't really played any of the sequels), units with the Charm, Dominate, and Seduce abilities can permanently turn enemy units to your side. Dominate even works on enemy heroes. There's also a global tranquility spell (in an interesting twist, this is available only to those who specialize in Light magic) which forces all the various races to blissfully get along with each other. Very useful for keeping your slave armies from revolting.

I remember that one, forgot to put it in. Kinda fun though, and Saints Row 3 is a cool game overall anyway.

Sims 2 (console)
Ghosts can possess living sims and make them act like a chicken; one of the story levels has 3 playable ghosts and if one of your Sims die, (surprisingly easy, I once found a food combo that was deadly) they're playable ghosts

Sims: Bustin' Out
Has a Hypnotize social interaction; chicken imitation again

Final Fantasy
Some have spells that let you control the enemies

Super Mario Odyssey
Do I really have to say anything, it's a key game play mechanic

Disgaea 5
Charm, treats everyone as bisexual, makes enemies fight among themselves
Seraphina, one of the main characters has a special attack that inflicts charm on male enemies near her, once it's been upgraded via story events, you can control them like playable units

Not just the most recent ones. It's a series staple right from the first game. In fact, in the first two games, if you focus on it, find people who have a lot of inborn power, and train them up properly, it kind of gets wildly overpowered. You could keep trying to do complex tactics... or you could bring along a handful of psions with >90 power and skill, and just have the aliens grenade themselves, or shoot each other, or line themselves up to be shot efficiently - in case you like seeing big kill counts on your soldiers, you know. Even one of these people is enough to swing the odds way in your favor, four or five turns the game into a series of farcical slaughters.



Annnyway, since this thread is young, I'll keep to major-ish commercial releases with significant amounts of obvious direct mind control content that you can meaningfully see the results of for now. We'll have time later to delve into all the interactive fiction about psionic aliens, roguelikes with possession mechanics, and other bizarre indie stuff. Or the vast space of games where at least some minor mechanic can technically be construed as sorta MCish.

The Dishonored series has a few pretty cool abilities to possess or mesmerize people. They're played as dark eldritch powers, with little use except as a sneakier alternative to just stabbing people in the throat. The victims tend to be badly disoriented and often throw up when the possession ends.

Command & Conquer: Red Alert 2, or at least its expansion Yuri's Revenge, has a whole RTS faction built around mind control. I never played the expansion myself, but my impression from the base game is that it's pulpy and lightly comedic, but not as camp as the series got by RA3.

Deus Ex: Human Revolution has the CASIE "social enhancer". It mostly just lets you better understand people's personalities and what they want from you, but it has a pheromone button that... actually, still has a fairly subtle effect. It pretty much just makes it easier to get under people's skin emotionally, in a game where most conversations are more of the meeting-of-the-minds type. But it's still played as a really creepy thing to use, that can come back and bite you just for having used it at all. It might get used on you at one point in the game, or not - it's hard to say for sure since its effects are a bit ambiguous.

Middle Earth: Shadow of Mordor (and possibly the sequel) give you the ability to brand uruk and make them fight for you.

I surely need to play the Sims soon after reading this.,

the two console games I referred to are both on the Gamecube

and isn't the Sims kinda already mcy as fuck? here you have people who will follow your every order without question unless their needs are not meet' plus you can turn off free will

Command and Conquer kinda fits into the same mold as XCOM, but a bit farther removed from the action. Yuri´s faction in Red Alert 2: Yuri´s Revenge or the Traveler 59 Subfaction in Tiberium Wars are just the most prominent examples.

In the game Alpha centauri you can do something called nerve stapling.
From what i looked up nerve stapling is a procedure where they put something on your head and spine and make you feel loads of sensations and its suppose to quell riots ingame for bout 10 months, from what i gather it is a form of mental conditioning.

That's not mental conditioning, it's effectively lobotomisation. There's a reason it's considered an Atrocity(Makes everyone hate oyu and seek to crush you mercilessly).

The Probe Teams can Mind Control enemy bases to your sides with sufficient energy credits. The enemy can do the same to you, also.

There are some new private City of Heroes servers up and about running code leaked from the old servers before the game went down, and the Mind Control power set is still as good as it's always been. Not exactly sexy (at least for me) but it's certainly relevant to the thread subject. Tangentially related are the Illusion Control powerset with the Deceive power to cause enemies to fight each other, and the Darkness Control powerset with Possess, which does the same thing but with some extremely cool corruption visuals (the enemy is covered in darkness with glowing eyes). The Controller class gets access to all three sets, and the Dominator class has access to Mind and Darkness.

I thought mental conditioning would itself be an atrocity cause you are brainwashing the minds of everyone.

One could make the argument that lobotomizing someone into an unthinking, unfeeling drone would be more atrocious than leaving some of their own thoughts and feelings. It really depends on the person.
I think any way you slice it, lobotomy is pretty messed up, whereas some other forms of mind control are a bit "nicer" to the victim. Asking the question "How okay would I be if this happened to me?" seems to give an indication that there is a gradient when it comes to the morality of mind control.
Then again, using this site definitely gives me some personal biases for some forms of control over others.